Leveling device

ABSTRACT

A leveling device has a housing, a support surface which is fixed with the housing, an adjusting device including at least one adjusting screw which is displaceable outwardly and has an adjusting thread which is engageable with a counter thread for adjusting the adjusting screw, the counter thread being formed as a partially side of a slider which is displaceable transversely to a longitudinal axis of the adjusting screw and disengageable from the adjusting thread.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a leveling device.

Leveling devices are known in the art. One of such devices is disclosedfor example in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,942. The leveling device of thispatent has a housing, a support surface which is fixed to the housing,an adjusting device. The adjusting device has at least one adjustingscrew which can be displaced so that it extends outwardly beyond thesupport surface. For this purpose the adjusting screw is provided withan adjusting thread which engages with a counter thread in the housing.The adjusting device with the adjusting screw serves for adjusting theleveling device to the desired leveling plane, which is adjustable bymeans of a water balance formed on the leveling device. Thisconstruction however has a substantial disadvantage that the adjustingscrew must be screwed back when it must be again returned into thehousing so that it no longer extends outwardly beyond the supportsurface. In the practice, the return points for the operators of theleveling device are frequently omitted, since it is too time consumingand complicated. When the adjusting screw after the use of the levelingdevice must again extend outwardly beyond the support plane of thesupport surface, the adjusting screw can be easily damaged. Moreover theleveling device with the extended adjusting screw can not be used as awater balance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide aleveling device of the above mentioned type which avoids thedisadvantages of the prior art.

In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparenthereinafter, one feature of present invention resides, briefly stated ina leveling device, in which the counter thread engaging with anadjusting thread of the adjusting screw extending beyond the abutmentsurface is formed as a partial thread on a slider which is displaceabletransversely to the longitudinal section of the adjusting screw and isbringable outside of engagement with the adjusting thread.

When the leveling device is designed in accordance with the presentinvention, it has the advantage that the adjusting screw can be returnedin each arbitrary position in a simple manner in the housing of theleveling device, so that every time without great expenses the operationof a water balance is available.

In accordance with a further advantageous feature of the presentinvention, the adjusting screw after actuation of a releasing key isdisplaceable back by the spring force. Thereby the one-hand operabilityof the leveling device remains guaranteed.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for thepresent invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims.The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and itsmethod of operation, together with additional objects and advantagesthereof, will be best understood from the following description ofspecific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a leveling device in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through the inventive leveling device;

FIG. 3 is a partial section through the inventive leveling device on anenlarged scale when compared with FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section through the inventive leveling device; and

FIG. 5 is a view of the leveling device in accordance with the presentinvention as seen from the front.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A leveling device in accordance with the present invention is identifiedwith reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1. It has a housing 11 which forms asupport surface 13 on a lower side 12.

The leveling device 10 has a level element 14 oriented parallel to thesupport surface 13. Moreover, the leveling device 10 has a lightindicating device 15, which can produce a bundled light beam orientedparallel to the support surface 13. Furthermore, an adjusting device 16is provided for orienting the support surface 13 relative to therespective substrate, in particular horizontally.

The adjusting device 16 is further provided with two support legs 17 aand 17 b. They are arranged laterally on the housing and turnable sothat they can extend outwardly beyond the support surface 13 as shown inFIG. 5. In FIG. 1 the support legs 17 a, 17 b are shown in their foldedback position. The abutment legs 17 a, 17 b are substantiallyplate-shaped and have outwardly curved support edges 57 a and 57 b.

In the leveling device 10 shown in FIG. 2 level element 14 extendsparallel to the support surface 13. In the front region 18 the levelingdevice has a light indicating device 15. The light indicating deviceincludes a laser diode 20, a collimation lens 21 and a light outletpassage 22. The path of rays of a light beam produced by the lightindicating device 15 is oriented parallel to a longitudinal axis 23 ofthe leveling device 10, to which also the support surface 13 is orientedparallel.

A battery compartment 26 is located substantially centrally in thehousing 11 of the leveling device 10. A battery 27 for the currentsupply of the light indicating device 15 is accommodated in the batterydepartment 26. The adjusting device 16 is accommodated in a rear region19 of the leveling device 10 and has an adjusting screw 30 which isarranged substantially transversely to the longitudinal axis 23. In FIG.2 it is shown in a base position at the housing 11, displaced backbehind the support surface 13.

The adjusting screw 30 has a cylindrical shaft part 31 which is providedon the outer periphery with an adjusting thread 36, and also amulti-edge drive part 32. The adjusting screw is form-lockingly coupledvia the drive part 32 with an adjusting wheel 34. The adjusting wheel 34engages partially in the window retained laterally in the housing 11through the housing 11 and therefore is available for actuation of theadjusting screw 30 by the operator from outside. At the end located nearthe support surface 13, the adjusting screw 30 forms an adjustingmandrel 33.

A slider 37 is supported displaceable transversely to the displacingdirection of the adjusting screw 30 in the housing 11. The slider 37 hasa throughgoing opening 38, through which the adjusting screw 30 engageswith its shaft part 31. The throughgoing opening 38 is wider than thediameter of the shaft part 31 of the adjusting screw 30, so that theslider 37 is displaceable within certain limits. An inner thread 39 isformed on a wall of the throughgoing opening 38. It is bringable inengagement with the adjusting thread 36. The inner thread 39 issubstantially semi circular and forms a partial thread. The slider 37 ispre-tensioned by a pressure spring 40 in the direction toward theengaging position of the inner thread 39 and the adjusting thread 36.

In the arresting position shown in FIG. 2, the slider 37 is blocked byan arresting pin 41 which in this position serves as an abutment for thepretensioning force of the pressure spring 40. The arresting pin 41engages with its end 42 facing the support surface 13, into thearresting opening 43 in the slider 37. The arresting opening 43 hassubstantially the same diameter as the slider 37, so that the slider 37is blocked form-lockingly in the arresting position. In this positionthe inner thread 39 and the adjusting thread 36 are not in engagementwith one another. Simultaneously the adjusting screw 30 is forced by areturn spring 44 to a base position in which it is completely withdrawninto the housing. In this base position the support surface 13 isavailable for the support purposes.

A push button 48 is located in a rear region 19 of the leveling device10, in an extension of the arresting pin 41. The arresting pin 41 isdisplaceable by the push button 48 from the base position relative tothe slider 37. Near a support-side end 42, the arresting pin 41 isprovided with a narrowing 49 which is displaceable by the pressing in ofthe push button 48 at the height of the arresting opening 43. When thenarrowing 49 and the slider 37 are in alignment with one another, theslider 37 is released axially, so that the slider 37 is displaced by theforce of the spring 40, until the inner thread 39 and the adjustingthread 36 are engaged with one another as shown in FIG. 3.Simultaneously, a first spring 50 is pre-tensioned and loads the pushbutton 48. After releasing of the push button 48, the first spring 50forces the push button 48 again back to its initial position, and theprojections 52, 53 of the push button 48 come to abutment against thecorresponding projections on the housing 13. A second spring 51 loadsthe arresting pin 41 with its return force.

FIG. 3 shows the rear region 19 of the adjusting device 16 in itsadjusting position, on a scale which is enlarged when compared with FIG.2. In this position the thread 36 on the shaft part 11 of the adjustingscrew 30 is in engagement with the inner thread 39 on the slider 37. Theslider 37 engages on the one hand in the narrowing 49 in the arrestingpin 41. In this engaging position, the adjusting screw 30 by turning ofthe adjusting wheel 34 displaces as a result the thread connection 36/39against the restoring spring 44, and the abutment mandrel 33 thenextends outwardly of the housing 11 and is displaceable outwardly overthe support surface 13.

On its end which faces away from the slider 37, its pressure spring 40has a T-shaped actuation button 54 which extends outwardly of thehousing 11. Therefore, the actuation button 54 is accessible for theoperator of the inventive machine 10. By pressing the actuating button54, the operator can displace the slider 37 against the pretensioningforce of the pressure spring 40, and the slider is moved back from thenarrowing 49 and releases in this way the arresting pin 41. Thearresting pin 41 is displaced again to its initial position shown inFIG. 2. The inner thread 39 and the adjusting thread 36 then againengage one another. The return spring 44 forces the adjusting screw 30automatically back to its base position in the housing 11.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-section through the leveling device 10 in theregion of the support leg 17 a, 17 b. There are total two support legs17 a, 17 b on the opposite sides of the housing 11. They are coupledwith one another through a toothed gear transmission 55. Each supportleg 17 a, 17 b is non-rotatably connected with a toothed gear 56 a, 56b. Thus, by turning a first support leg 17 a, 17 b the correspondinganother abutment leg 17 a, 17 b is also turned.

FIG. 5 shows the leveling device 10 with the unfolded support legs 17 a,17 b which, because of the coupling through the toothed geartransmission 55, are turned always uniformly. The abutment legs 17 a, 17b extend outwardly through the support surface 13, so that the levelingdevice 10 can be placed on any substrate, independently from the supportsurface 13. This is usable especially in the event of uneven substrates.The adjusting screw 30 which is extended outwardly beyond the supportsurface 13 is recognizable between both support legs 17 a, 17 b with thesupport mandrel 33. Because of the curved support edges 57 a, 57 b ofthe support legs 17 a, 17 b, the leveling device 10 with the turned outabutment legs 17 a, 17 b is easily adjustable via the adjusting screw30.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inleveling device, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,since various modifications and structural changes may be made withoutdeparting in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:

What is claimed is:
 1. A leveling device, comprising a housing; asupport surface which is fixed with the housing; an adjusting deviceincluding at least one adjusting screw which is displaceable outwardlyand has an adjusting thread which is engageable with a counter threadfor adjusting said adjusting screw, said counter thread being formed asa partial thread of a slider which is displaceable transversely to alongitudinal axis of said adjusting screw and disengageable from saidadjusting thread.
 2. A leveling device as defined in claim 1; andfurther comprising a pressure spring arranged so that said slider issupported displaceable against a tensioning force of said pressurespring.
 3. A leveling device as defined in claim 2, wherein said slidercooperates with an arresting pin which in an arresting position of saidslider holds it in a release position, in which said adjusting screw andsaid counter screw are not in engagement with one another.
 4. A levelingdevice as defined in claim 3; and further comprising a return spring,said adjusting screw in said releasing position being forced by saidreturn spring to an initial position which is rearwardly offset in saidhousing.
 5. A leveling device as defined in claim 3; and furthercomprising a push button, said arresting pin being displaceable againsta spring force by said push button.
 6. A leveling device as defined inclaim 5, wherein said slider has an arresting opening, said arrestingpin engaging in said slider through said arresting opening.
 7. Aleveling device as defined in claim 2; and further comprising supportlegs each arranged on said housing on facing away side surfaces, saidsupport legs being outwardly turnable over said support surface and arein operative connection with each other.
 8. A leveling device as definedin claim 7; and further comprising toothed gears through which saidsupport legs are in engagement with one another.
 9. A leveling device asdefined in claim 7, wherein said support legs are plate-shaped and haveoutwardly curved support edges.